


Because The Truth Is

by ascientistfortonight



Category: Razia's Shadow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 19:05:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3300374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ascientistfortonight/pseuds/ascientistfortonight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adakias was taught to trust in his brother, but what can he do when Pallis decides to stop defending him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because The Truth Is

Always trust in your brother. That's what he was taught, the words pounded into the young prince's mind.

Trust in your brother. He is the only one who can protect you. Trust in your brother. He is the only one who will stand beside you. Trust in your brother. He is the only one who truly knows you. Trust in your brother. His wisdom is greater than yours.

Adakias was certain that Pallis had never been taught that last part.

Pallis didn't always roll his eyes at the stories that Adakias was so fascinated with; once he too sat down, entranced by legends of O and Ahrima and Barayas, of Toba the Tura and oracles. And then one day, Pallis stopped spinning stories, stopped spending time with his little brother. The boy couldn't understand why. Why stop? He can't just let something like that go, can he?

"I'm going to be king!" Pallis had shouted, his furious words echoing down empty halls. "I don't have time for your stories anymore!"

Adakias had cried. Pallis quieted him down by giving in and once again telling the story of Ahrima. But that was the very last time he did such a thing.

Five years difference between the two brothers, yet it was enough to set a rift between them. Maybe Pallis felt it, but Adakias had a quiet suspicion that he did not. His brother's gaze had turned to the future, to _his_ future, to the tutors that told the boys how to act like princes, taught Pallis how to act like a king. Stories no longer had a place in the category of logic, the younger brother shunned whenever he brought them up.

Adakias withdrew. Quietly, so as not to distract the elder brother from his lessons. He always turned to gaze out the window, the tutor only always seeing the boy's profile under a mop of onyx hair. Eventually he stopped trying, stopped snapping Adakias's name in an attempt to reclaim his attention from the dark clouds that swirled above.

Adakias remembered the first time he was called a foolish dreamer, useless and unneeded. He was so confused, asking Pallis why they call him that, what they meant. Pallis never explained, just bristled and went out to threaten whoever had demeaned his little brother.

Always trust in your brother, for he is the only one who will protect you.

Time dragged on for the young prince, the ache in his chest for something new growing with each passing year. He was becoming restless, though distant, lost in his own thoughts. More people called him a dreamer, a romance seeker, and Pallis always defended him.

Adakias hardly saw his brother anymore; he was always too busy with learning and studying to really bother with his little brother. So Adakias found escape on the rooftops and the edges of the walls, in books and more stories, though his mind kept returning to the prophesy he'd grown up with. _The boy will one day cross the mountains._ Adakias wanted to be that boy. He was sure that if he did, he'd change the world. He'd do more good out than he could here.

Always trust in your brother, for he is the only one who truly knows you.

The two brothers were beginning to doubt that. How could a foolish dreamer understand a future king? How could a duty bound king understand wanderlust? The rift between the two brothers widened, and though Adakias fought to close it, there was only so much he could do. Sometimes he felt that it was not enough. That _he_ was not enough.

He felt like he was being shoved towards the edge of a cliff, so he dug his heels into the earth, unwilling to take the plunge. He fought against it, shouting his objections, but all he got back was echoes of his words, cruel mockeries without even a trace of understanding.

"You're a reckless and romantic rogue!" they shouted, and the young prince bristled. "Your head is in the clouds! You'll be chained here all your life, shackled to the ground! You're not the chosen one!"

Fear trickled through him, refusing to believe that he'd be trapped in a place he barely considered home. He wanted space, not just air. He wanted to speak and be listened to. He wanted to travel and explore, to know and understand. Why couldn't people accept his wild spirit?

"If you elope…"

Always trust in your brother, for he is the only one who will stand beside you.

Adakias, tired of fiction and bound by his ambition, left his home for the city of Light. Maybe he could find a place there to call his own. And if he can't, then he'll move on to a new place. Even if Pallis is on his heels, he'd do as he saw fit. This was his life now, newly unmarred.

He'd spent most of his first day up on the mountain, letting his eyes adjust to the harsh light that the Dark hadn't seen in a hundred years. The world smelled clean up here, fresh and crisp air that he didn't know he needed until now. Adakias hadn't realized how cold he'd been until he stepped into the light, and suddenly he couldn't get enough of the heat. It warmed him to the core and lifted his spirits, thoughts as warm as his body bubbling forth. Adakias took a deep breath, pushed his hair out of his face, and started down towards the city that sat glistening on the horizon. Why hadn't he left sooner? If he'd known that he'd feel this wonderful, this free, he wouldn't have waited so long.

He'd lost hope in his brother, but gained his freedom. A tradeoff he found he was okay with.


End file.
